


On The Road To Ruin

by Ragingstillness



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: A soulmate AU of sorts..., F/M, I only just discovered the Year of Prompts anyway, and not meant to be a part of the collection because I'm real late, will follow canon to an extent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-12 17:18:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11166459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ragingstillness/pseuds/Ragingstillness
Summary: Ok I am playing very fast and loose with the ages and time periods here. Just to clarify, Phryne begins the story at eight, turns sixteen in 1914. She is in Paris at about twenty after the war ends in 1918. She travels for a decade and returns to Melbourne at thirty in 1928. As the actual show seems to take place in 1929 I’m guessing I’m at least close to canon.This AU was inspired by the other millions of soulmate aus I’ve read but the rules of this one are all mine. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to use it.I am also going to follow canon with this one but barely any details of the cases will be mentioned, instead the focus will be on the story that takes place in the romantic moments and the quiet ones that we don’t see in the show.





	On The Road To Ruin

    Phryne Fisher was an energetic child. She never sat still long enough to absorb more than she felt she needed to, much to the chagrin of her mother and various caretakers. 

    When the time came for her mother to sit Phryne down and tell her the heart legend, Phryne was, as usual, not inclined to do so. Finally the promise of biscuits lured her to her bedspread. It was not, as her father assumed, the threat of a spanking. 

    Madeline Fisher began the conversation by raising her hand to her chest and, with a small tugging motion, pulling a colorful jewel from within it, a little larger than a mango and smaller than a watermelon. 

    Little Phryne was transfixed. She'd never seen a heart before or seen one get removed. It was the most beautiful thing she'd even witnessed. Madeline's heart faded playfully in and out of the rainbow, interspersed with stationary white stars, so small Phryne could barely see them. 

    Madeline held it out to her daughter, who took it happily. It was smooth and round under Phryne's fingers. As she moved her hand across it, the colors chased her movement. It drew out a shocked giggle from the eight year old. Madeline smiled to hear it. 

    "Is this yours mama?" 

    Madeline laughed. 

    "Yes of course sweetie. Whose else would it be?" 

    A dark expression crossed her daughter’s too-young face for a moment.

    “Phryne? What is it?”

    The little girl huffed and crossed her arms, refusing to meet her mother’s eyes.

    “I thought you might have Janey’s,” she said in a small voice.

    Madeline’s heart broke a little. She wanted to reiterate the quite, yet painful sentence she had been telling her daughter for weeks now: “Janey’s gone.” But this was too much. Biting her lip to stop tears Madeline merely shook her head.

    Phryne’s spine slumped. 

    After all quiet sniffles had taken place and been summarily ignored, the two turned their attention back to the heart. A familiar light lit in Phryne’s eyes as she examined the orb. Madeline was careful not to speak, and let the question tumble out. 

    Phryne squinted at her mother.

    "Does father have one?" 

    Madeline didn't miss the skepticism and for a moment regretted how flighty Henry was, even with his daughter. 

    "Yes he does." 

    "What does his look like? Your is so..." Phryne struggled to find the word. "Spatial." 

    Madeline nodded. 

    "His is more earthy. Lots of little gold bits." 

    Phryne regarded the orb still in her hands. She turned it over and over but it was the same on every side except for the gold ring around the edges. 

    "Why show me now?"

    "It is time to tell you about yours. After all, you are getting to be quite big, soon you'll be chasing after little boys and will want to know what to do." 

    Phryne nodded several times. 

    "Mhmm. I already chase little Timmy from across the way, and even Jaques, who's older, is scared of me." 

    Madeline snorted. That sounded like her girl. 

    "Anyway, there are several important facts you have to remember. I'll remind you, but it'll be better if you memorize them soon." 

    She took a breath. 

    "First.” 

    Phryne sighed, bracing for a lecture. 

    "Your heart is different from mine. You haven't found true love yet, as much as you may already love our family, this is a different kind of love. Therefore, yours won't be this color." 

    Little Phryne propped her chin on her palm in blatant dismissal of her mother's lessons in sitting up straight. 

    "Second, your heart is more fragile than mine. If I dropped mine, it wouldn't shatter, it can't break. Not as long as I love your father. But yours can break." 

    That got her daughter's attention. Her blue eyes widened in shock and horror. Madeline nodded at Phryne’s unspoken questions. 

    "Yes, it can break, and if it does, you may never feel love again. So you have to be very careful with it, alright Phryne?"   
Phryne nodded. 

    "Third, your heart can also crack. The cracks won't break it, until you get a certain amount. Cracks are caused by taking your heart out. However, it'll take a ton of cracks to get to the point where it will break. Why, you'd have to show all of Collingwood and maybe Richmond too to get that many." 

    Phryne looked slightly mollified. 

    "So as long as I don't break it and don't take it out, I'm safe?" 

    Madeline nodded. 

    "Yes. Until you find your true love. Then all cracks will heal and it will be impervious to breaking." 

    "How will I know who it is?" 

    "You have to take your heart out and give it to them. So there's always a little bit of risk. Right now yours is black. It'll light up in their hands and all the cracks will heal. It's a brilliant light." 

    A light not unlike the one Madeline was describing shone from her daughter's eyes. Without a doubt, Madeline knew Phryne would think of nothing else for the next week. 

    And so she did, chattering on about it for days, even convincing her father to show her his. When he had, Phryne took it, turned it over briskly, and returned it to him, crinkling her nose and saying, "not as pretty as mama's," before running off.

* * *

 

    The first time Phryne showed it to someone, she came rushing home from school. 

    "Mama!" She called through the house. 

    Madeline jolted up from where she'd fallen asleep at her desk. Phryne's voice sounded both distressed and thrilled. Madeline threw on a robe and rushed into the kitchen. 

    When she got there Phryne clasped her hands under her chin and asked, almost tentatively, "what does it mean when your heart glows white?" 

    Rather than be disappointed Phryne broke her rule, Madeline was delighted. She lifted her daughter, now almost too big to be lifted, and spun her. 

    "That means you've found a best friend." 

    Phryne's smile could have powered the entire neighborhood. 

    "Really?!" 

    "Yes. Bright white is for the best of destined friends and green is for family." 

    Phryne stared her mother down. 

    "You didn't tell me that before." 

    Madeline shrugged as best she could while still suspending Phryne above her. 

    "It was a lot of information sweetie. But never mind that," she did another spin, "who did you show yours to?" 

    "A girl in my class. Her name's Elizabeth but she doesn't like it very much. I think it's pretty but she thinks it's a toff's name." 

    "Language Phryne!" 

    "So she goes by Mac. That's the first part of her last name." 

    "Mac, Mac," Madeline mused. "Is she the MacMillan's girl?" 

    Phryne nodded. "How wonderful. What made you want to show her your heart?" 

    "She'd just learned about the system. But we'd never seen our hearts before.” 

    Phryne shrugged. 

    “We thought, why not see each other's? We snuck out after class." 

    The particulars of the moment came back to Phryne and she laughed. 

    "I handed her mine and she handed me hers. We were so frightened when they started glowing. It was so bright. Mac thought it was a firecracker." 

    Phryne glanced at the door. She was starting to get heavy in Madeline's arms so she was set down. 

    "Can I go tell her? Please?" 

    Madeline nodded and there her daughter went. Off like a shot.

* * *

 

    From then on, Phryne and Mac were inseparable, more than living up to their bond. They were the happiest and most mischievous pair in Collingwood. Everything was looking perfect then Phryne turned sixteen and the war began. Accordingly, Henry's temper got worse. Phryne spent more time at Mac's house, and Henry wouldn't calm despite Madeline's attentions.

    Phryne’s enlistment in the ambulance corps was not a surprise but it still shook Madeline to the core. She finally recognized just how much fighting had gone on in their house. 

    But her daughter was gone, her best friend with her, and Madeline could do nothing but shout at Henry, cry, and pray for the girls' survival.

* * *

 

    Survive they did, but only physically. They were split up early on, an action that nearly tore their souls apart. Phryne felt Mac's absence like a physical pain. The war left their bodies intact but not their values. Visions of mud and blood and violence siphoned away all of Phryne's childhood dreams and aspirations, making naïveté of it all. 

    In an effort to prove herself a new, mature person, Phryne went to Paris at twenty and modeled for the artists there. It was thrilling. There was a raw sexuality to it that appealed to the hormonal urges she hadn't the time to examine during the bloodshed. But there was also beauty in all of its forms. More importantly, it did wonders for Phryne's psyche to be a part of it, to let sketch artists and painters and sculptors to extol her virtues, to call her beautiful. But all good things have an expiration date, and that was the only lesson Phryne hadn't managed to learn in the darkness of war. 

    Cue the appearance of Rene, and the death of everything Phryne loved about herself. She'd always been a free spirit, and she had been since raised on a pedestal by the fascinating people she met. She figured he was an attractive man, charming, and on just the right side of not too old. 

    It was so easy to fall into his arms, to feel his version of passion. Until she stopped enjoying it. Until his eyes turned dark and the thoughts of him that haunted her mind daily became tinged with fear. 

    He was so unpredictable; for a moment a gentleman, the next, a jailor. But the night he pulled her out of Sarcelle's studio, flung her to the wall, and hit her in public for the first time, she saw clearly. She had fallen in love with a monster, and she'd fall prey to it if she remained any longer. 

    By a stroke of luck, she discovered Mac was also in the city, and sought her out for help. Mac offered a soft bed, comfort, and to shoot Rene's balls off before strangling him. Phryne was flattered but only accepted the first two offers. 

    It was really a wonder to see her best friend in so long and even better to see her anger. Mac's hair was even redder than Phryne had remembered, and it burned like a brand when she raged, slamming her fists into things and cussing Rene out in several languages. Phryne watched the righteous destruction for a couple of minutes then burst into desperate sobs. 

    She wailed like a babe, crying out everything she'd never been able to express before. Relief at her freedom, sadness at the death of her belief in romantic love, all the pain of the war, and finally overwhelming affection for Mac's friendship. 

    In the midst of it all she remembered she had never shown Rene her heart and he had never asked her to. That was the only victory she retained over him. He would not be responsible for another crack. The first and only one Phryne cared about, already belonged to Mac. 

    The next morning brought a terrifying numbness, even waking up in Mac's arms. Her mother’s words came back to her. When the heart breaks fully, it ceases to feel love? Well if that was what love felt like, Phryne never wanted to feel it again. 

    She spent a couple more days with Mac then after tearful goodbyes, absconded with a bunch of money she had unashamedly stolen from Rene. With it she took off to Asia, and America, and the rest of Europe when she was feeling brave. And everywhere she went she found companionship. 

    Her plan was simple. Heart showing was most common during passionate encounters. She enjoyed the rush of pleasure and happiness one shot companions brought and it simultaneously afforded her an opportunity to gain a crack. Two birds, one stone. Her heart touched hand after hand after hand, none lighting it up, all creating cracks. The partner was generally disappointed. Phryne was always pleased. 

    The surface of her heart grew cracked to the point of having barely any smooth space left. Yet, lying next to another man on her thirtieth birthday, Phryne still hadn't managed to crack it fully. She tossed the orb into the air, let it fall back into her chest. 

    The moonlight shattered across the room as it hit the cracks, illuminating the telegram she had been both drinking and _sleeping_ to forget. Her sister's kidnapper and probably killer, a hair's breath close to parole. It was because of him that she had never seen her sister's heart. It was because of him her sister was out of her life when Phryne first learned of the system.   
Madeline only had to tell one child. 

    And, Phryne vowed, that wouldn't stand. She would not do dishonor to Janey's memory by allowing him to get away. That thrice damned Murdoch Foyle had to pay for his crimes. Phryne packed a bag that very night and left, booking a ticket to Melbourne, Australia.

**Author's Note:**

> Ok I am playing very fast and loose with the ages and time periods here. Just to clarify, Phryne begins the story at eight, turns sixteen in 1914. She is in Paris at about twenty after the war ends in 1918. She travels for a decade and returns to Melbourne at thirty in 1928. As the actual show seems to take place in 1929 I’m guessing I’m at least close to canon. 
> 
> This AU was inspired by the other millions of soulmate aus I’ve read but the rules of this one are all mine. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to use it. 
> 
> I am also going to follow canon with this one but barely any details of the cases will be mentioned, instead the focus will be on the story that takes place in the romantic moments and the quiet ones that we don’t see in the show.


End file.
